Laura Flueckiger:
I am a middle school teacher for the Boston Public Schools with a Masters Degree in Special Education. I make daily decisions regarding academics, curriculum and student welfare. I facilitate meetings involving individualized educational plans (IEP), which consists of collaborating with parents, students, teachers, specialists and administrators. As a teacher, I will work hard to ‘stretch’ our educational dollar and ensure that they directly benefit student learning. My experience in teaching includes all grade levels K-12, preschool and Adult Education.

Raised in Needham, I have two children in our public school system. Due to a move and redistricting my children started at Newman, moved to Hillside and are presently at the Eliot School. I have the unique experience of being involved in many of the elementary school communities. I care about Needham residents and I will work hard for everyone. I am committed to making well-informed, sound educational decisions for our children.

Don Gratz:
I have been on the school committee since 1999, and have served as vice chair, chair, a member of the negotiating team, our representative to The Education Cooperative and the Mass Association of School Committees, and on committees for policy, negotiations with teachers, and many others. I’m also a Town Meeting Member.

I have a doctorate in education and spent the past 15 years helping school districts reorganize to improve – from urban districts like Cleveland and Denver to high performing districts in California’s Silicon Valley. I have worked with school boards, administrators, teachers, parents and others to jointly plan and implement improvement strategies. I currently direct graduate programs in education at Curry College, training teachers and administrators to enter the public schools. Finally, I keep current on educational issues, and have published on issues of education in various national journals.

Holly Horrigan:
As a mother of three young children, I am deeply committed to the quality of Needham’s schools. Needham’s schools are facing difficult economic times. With a degree in Economics from MIT, I believe my expertise in Economics and Statistics will add value to the budgeting and planning process, helping to keep us on track into the future. Throughout my professional career, I have been tasked with finding creative solutions to real-life financial problems, from predicting characteristics of the stock market, to managing financial risk, to making optimal economic decisions under uncertainty. I successfully developed a technique for optimizing purchase and sale decisions under uncertainty which was awarded a US Patent in 2002 and published in the Journal of Business in 2005. I believe these experiences will help me work through the complicated economic and planning problems facing Needham’s schools. For more information about my candidacy, and for responses to the remaining questions posed by Citizens for Needham Schools, please visit www.voteHH.com and click on my FAQ page. Along with the Citizens for Needham Schools questionnaire, I will post my Q&A with the Boston Globe, and other information relevant to the issues facing the Needham schools.

Bill Okerman:
Personal – I have 2 children, Rachel, 20, and Jeff, 13. Rachel is a 2003 graduate of Needham High School and currently a junior at Ithaca College. Jeff is in the 7th grade at Pollard Middle School. My wife, Laura Terzian, and I pay very close attention to our children’s education and that has afforded me the opportunity to learn a great deal about Needham’s educational system. While there is always room for improvement, I believe that the Needham Public Schools have served my children well and I want to ensure that that continues for all of the children who attend our schools.

Both of my parents were public school teachers for many years, and both of my sisters are currently public school teachers. They have all had a strong influence on me with respect to my understanding of and passion for public education.

Volunteer –

• Town Meeting member (Precinct F) since 2003
• Founding member of Citizens for Needham Schools
• Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of the Needham Education Foundation
• Chairman of the NEF Large Grants Committee in 2005
• Stephen Palmer Rent/Tenant Committee from 2001 to 2005
• Coach of numerous Needham youth league baseball, basketball, and soccer teams.

Educational – I have a BA, cum laude, from Harvard University with a major in Psychology and Social Relations. I was also an accomplished competitive athlete at both the high school and college levels. I understand the importance of offering a wide range of extracurricular activities – not just athletics, but art, music, theatre, etc. I also very strongly believe in making sure that our children, whether or not they desire to be athletes, are physically fit.

Professional - I have spent more than 25 years in the high tech industry, specializing in information technology. My professional experience has enabled me to develop very strong communication, negotiation, and relationship skills, which I believe will, along with my volunteer activities, enable me to work well with all of the various constituent groups who are responsible for and interested in Needham’s public schools.

Mike Taggart:
Having taught in the Special Education department at Needham High School in various capacities for six years, I believe I will bring a unique perspective from the inside to the School Committee. I have had the opportunity to work directly with students of all levels across the curriculum, to get a grasp of the curriculum on the whole, and to challenge many views, including my own, of best practices. As a School Committee member, I will use this experience to ask the appropriate questions regarding our effectiveness in addressing student learning. In addition, my experiences as a volunteer in youth baseball organizations in town has given me experience and perspective on developing policy for educational programs for children. As a graduate of the high school and a 24-year resident of Needham, I have a historical perspective which I believe will be beneficial in making decisions for the long term.

Don Gratz:
When I was chair, we learned that the high school repairs would be vastly more costly than anticipated, and that the state would be ending its reimbursement program for school buildings at the end of the fiscal year. I was instrumental in bringing many parties together to develop a plan for a substantially new high school. This plan was approved in Needham and at the state in record time. Had this not happened, we would still be pouring millions of dollars into the old high school each year for short term repairs. I learned from this that Needham – both as a school system and as a town – is willing and able to work cooperatively and quickly when the need arises. Many towns could not have gotten everyone to work together in time. That we were able to do that shows the strength and commitment of town officials and citizens, who put aside differences to get the job done. This is something we should be proud of, built on relationships I hope to preserve.

Bill Okerman:
I chaired the Needham Education Foundation’s Large Grants Committee for the 2004-2005 school year. My involvement in that effort gave me the opportunity to directly interact with numerous members of the Needham school system and various community groups acting in support of the schools. That activity enabled me to appreciate first hand the creativity and dedication of the people who work in and with our schools. I’m proud that I chaired the committee when 2 important Large Grants were funded: “Expanding the Dialogue,” which is a collaborative project between the Pollard Middle School, the Needham Human Rights Committee, and the Needham Clergy Association; and The Mitchell Outdoor Learning Center project, which brought together the resources of numerous organizations to create a multipurpose outdoor learning center at the Mitchell School’s previously unused courtyard.

Mike Taggart:
In the spring of 2003 I was working with a student who had missed a great deal of school to catch her up on some high-level math so that she could finish out the year. My preparation for one session revealed that I had trouble understanding some problems myself. I knew Bob Evers, who had been my math teacher when I was a freshman in high school, had a free period at the time, so I sought him out for a quick explanation of the concept. What I got was so much more. Bob sat me down, thoroughly explained the relevant concepts, showed samples, and wouldn’t let me leave until he knew I understood it. He was a month away from retirement, but he still gave up half of his planning period to help me out so that I could help a student. In my teaching I sought to go the extra mile for my students, and this was because so many had done so for me. I felt extremely proud to be part of a school system in which this was so ingrained in the culture that teachers would do this for even those students who were now colleagues, and I felt challenged to always go this extra mile myself and to preserve this school culture for future generations.

Laura Flueckiger:
Like many families in Needham, I am a working parent. I am a full-time teacher and I take my personal days to take field trips with my kids and their classes. I volunteer to help at holiday parties and fundraisers at the school my boys attend.

One activity that comes to mind is being an advisor and friend to the many Needham families who have special needs children. I am honored that they entrust me at these critical moments in the development of their children’s lives.

I am aware of the significant needs that need to be addressed with special needs in the Needham School System. I will address each of the problems and help to remedy all of them.

Bill Okerman:

• The biggest near term challenge we face is dealing with the overcrowding at Pollard. I look forward to hearing the recommendations and cost estimates associated with the various possible solutions that are being developed by DiNisco Design Partnership. We also need to thoroughly assess the feasibility of having grades 5 through 8 in the middle schools. Once we have all of the necessary information we should move forward in an inclusive manner to decide the best solution and begin implementation as quickly as possible.
  
  
• More generally, we need to deal with rising enrollments in the face of the constraints placed upon us by Proposition 2½, rapidly increasing costs for energy, insurance, and retirement, and inadequate state aid. I firmly believe that small class sizes are a fundamental requirement for proper learning and am committed to ensuring that class sizes are kept at a reasonable level.
  
  
• The over-reliance on the local property tax to fund public education is a huge problem, and one that cannot be solved at the local level. Proposition 2½ was supposed to help fix this by limiting the size of and allowable increases in local property taxes and forcing the state to pick up more of the costs, but the state has not kept its part of the bargain. This needs to be fixed. As a member of the Needham School Committee one of the things I would do would be to work with our representatives at the state level to figure out a reasonable solution. The bottom line is we need and deserve more state aid for education.
  
  

Mike Taggart:
One of our biggest challenges is to bring the budget under control. We must review every dollar we spend to examine its positive impact on student learning, particularly regarding staff allocation, professional development, and supplies. A second challenge is to quickly settle on a cost-effective solution to the middle school space crunch. Many options have been presented and we need to decide on one approach that will be cost-effective but more importantly not compromise educational quality. I think a third challenge in the Needham Public Schools is to better serve the students in the middle of the learning curve. This is not an issue on which anybody can provide a simple directive solution but rather an ongoing conversation that needs to be held, and kept in mind when examining curriculum practices and policies.

Laura Flueckiger:

• The immediate need for middle school space in 2008. Needham needs a small second middle school for our students. As of 2008 our children do not fit in Pollard as it is today. As a temporary solution, I believe it is wise to use our existing, empty school High Rock for the overcrowding problem until a permanent plan is in place.
  
  I will always make decisions that are in the best interest of our children. Middle schools need to remain grades 6-8. It is imperative that we leave our fifth graders in elementary school. Academically and socially, students are not ready for middle school at ten years of age.
  
  The options that have been presented to the town for our schools, are not what is in the best interest of the children. I will not support construction of schools with children and teachers in them. I will not support a large new middle being built. I know that small schools are educationally good for our children and fiscally sound for our Town.
  
  
• Balancing our budget. My priority will always be what is in the best interest of the children. As a teacher, education comes first. I believe we must prioritize and evaluate each individual line item in our budget. Each proposal must be looked at how it impacts students and I want to make sure every dollar is wisely spent.
  
  
• Special education. I would like to review the Needham policies regarding all special education children. I am concerned that parents are not being heard and I would like to facilitate the communication between the schools, parents and students.
  
  

Don Gratz:

• Specific challenges include decisions regarding the middle school – both the long term plan and the interim solution – and the school start time discussion. How we make those decisions is important. Once we have all of the relevant information, the committee needs to listen to and balance the concerns of many parties, and to address these concerns as fairly as possible. I believe I have demonstrated my ability to do this for the last seven years.
  
  
• Needham is known for its positive school culture – a significant factor in promoting teaching and learning. Given the dramatic changes in leadership positions in the district coming up, including the superintendent, three principals, and three important directors, continuity and stability on the school committee – where we’ve also seen changes in the last two years -- is critically important. One of my main reasons for running is to preserve and build on this culture as we integrate new leaders and address the challenges that face us.
  
  
• Finally, there are the budget challenges. Every suburban district has been cutting, year after year – many have made deeper cuts than Needham. It is unlikely that every suburban and small urban district in the state is poorly managed. Rather, it’s become clear that the main problem is at the state level. State and federal governments have created more mandates and provided less funding, even as our costs and enrollments have gone up dramatically. The funding formula has not changed in 13 years, but the main question is not just how we divide up the educational pie if the pie is getting smaller. It’s about getting the state to shoulder its share, instead of taking more education and local aid money for other purposes. Needham gets $817 per student from the state – the bottom 3%. We spend about the same per student as in 2000, and less than in 1990, adjusted for inflation. Locally, our main way to raise funds is the property tax, which distributes the burden unfairly. I intend to remain actively involved in pressing the statehouse to provide relief for all cities and towns, especially those like Needham.
  
  

Mike Taggart:
Needham has historically done an exceptional job challenging top students, driving them to achieve, and sending them off to top colleges. I believe now many Special Education students are being served well. However, I believe many students in the middle of the learning curve tend to get “left behind.” This is illustrated by the upsurge of students signed up for accelerated level classes and a corresponding increase in Sped referrals. Too many students who are quiet, earn B and C grades, and do not have a true advocate fro them, graduate without having been served as well as others. This needs to be part of an ongoing conversation and analysis of our longstanding practices and policies.

In addition, another area in which I think we could be going in a different direction is with athletic issues. With the current budget so tight, I think the rush to raise athletic fees is an understandable reaction, but misguided. There is no way to track how many students we are losing who do not ask for a waiver or simply opt not to participate because of the cost. Student activities and interscholastic athletics are an important co-curricular element to a student’s school experience. Rather than looking to raise fees or cut programs, we should consider that Athletics is one of the few departments in a school system that can actually generate revenue. Now, instead of hustling after and embracing donations, the movement seems to be toward restricting donations by sport. I think this is short-sighted and counterproductive to a goal of decreasing the cost for the students...

Laura Flueckiger:

• Executing an immediate plan for middle school space by 2008. I look forward to choosing the long –term middle school plan that is educationally sound for ALL of our children. In my 13 years of experience in teaching, and in the extraordinary climate of the Boston Public School system, I have seen what works and what doesn’t. My leadership and contribution will be based solely on research and experience that best educate the children. I have first-hand knowledge of students needs, both developmentally and educationally. I look forward to taking on the job of implementing our middle school solutions and educational programs.
  
  
• I have a Masters in Special Education and I will always look closely at Needham’s programs for our children with needs. I will ensure that we are taking care of all of our students, with regard to these programs.
  
  
• As a teacher, I want to look at the budget line by line and stretch our educational dollars. I have spent my entire life working with children and in schools. I want to reassure Needham residents that their tax dollars are being spent wisely.
  
  

Don Gratz:

• I am interested in issues of school improvement and planning, accountability and community involvement. I’ve been a member of the Team to Improve Performance – the group behind the annual Performance Report – for many years, and have championed parent involvement through parent surveys and other measures.
  
  
• As noted above, I will be working to get the state to stop diverting local aid and school funding to other purposes, and to live up to its responsibility to fund communities and schools.
  
  
• Another area of expertise is in data analysis and accountability. While it would be inappropriate for me to attempt to impose my ideas about curriculum on the professionals within the administration, I believe my expertise in these areas adds to discussions of policy at the school committee level.
  
  
• As we enter negotiations with teachers next year, I am the only remaining school committee member with experience in that process.
  
  

Bill Okerman:
In addition to the challenges mentioned above, I am particularly concerned about the negative impact of budget constraints on course offerings that are outside of the core curriculum and upon extracurricular activities. A strong grounding in language, math and science is, of course, essential. But all of our children are not going to become mathematicians or scientists, and even those who do can gain from having been exposed to other disciplines. I never cease to be amazed by how much talent and dedication are exhibited by our children and their teachers when I have attended school events. In that light, among the things I would like to see is the elimination of athletic fees. To me, it makes no sense to penalize a child for being active and involved.

Through my professional experience I have been involved with several cutting-edge information technologies, including those relating to computer graphics, the Internet and World Wide Web, and Open Source software. I am interested in how the use of technology can be improved in our public schools.

Laura Flueckiger:
I would need to look closely at the budget when I am elected. My teaching philosophy is to always provide for the children. I want to see the classrooms properly staffed. I do not think we should eliminate teachers needed for enrollment. Needham has always supported small schools and small classes, making the Needham Public Schools a sought after school system.

I disagree with the recommendation to eliminate the Science Center when our budget gets tight. This is THE elementary science curriculum for students and teachers.

Don Gratz:
School committee budget choices have been guided for many years by a consistent concern for protecting teaching and learning within individual classrooms. We have been more successful in that regard than many surrounding communities, which have had to lay off teachers and raise class sizes. We have also managed to protect art, music, physical education and other important aspects of our education program. This gets harder with each passing year. The district’s two primary goals address academic success for students, and wellness throughout the school community. Wellness means helping students make appropriate decisions, creating respectful and responsive classrooms and schools, and maintaining a positive environment for teaching and learning. Our budgetary decisions have to reflect these goals – including both classroom and administrative support needed to get the job done.

Bill Okerman:
I believe that budgeting is, fundamentally, about determining our priorities and values, and then comparing what we believe we need to do to best serve the interests of our community with the resources we have available. It is not about somehow being able to precisely predict the future. We need to make assumptions about our future needs based upon the best information available to us at any given time (and, obviously, the longer the time horizon the more difficult it is to make "accurate" assumptions) and then make the sometimes difficult choices as to what we can and cannot do. In that light, I believe that Superintendent Theall’s strategy of focusing on those things that most directly impact classroom learning in formulating his budget requests has been a very sound approach.

With these things in mind, my priorities are as follows:

• Maintain small class sizes
• Hire and retain high-quality teachers and administrators
• Expand the curriculum as much as possible beyond core subjects
• Provide a wide range of extracurricular activities
• Ensure that our school buildings have adequate space and are properly equipped and maintained
• Ensure that our tax dollars are being well spent
• Ensure that Needham obtains its fair share of state and federal government aid for education

Mike Taggart:
The students have to be the top priority in setting the budget. Every dollar must be reviewed according to its impact on the students. Staff must be allocated and supplies purchased with this as the first priority. Too often, I have seen money spent on extra administrators, unnecessary computers, and one-day professional development meetings with little or no follow-up. These could go on the back burner. Money must be spent on supplies, programs, or staff if and only if they will be used to positively impact student learning.

Don Gratz:
Absolutely. If the overrides do not pass, significant cuts will be made both within the schools and in other town services. The shortfall comes about through the dramatic rise in the cost of health care and fuel, and as state funds pay for a lower percentage of our costs. We need to make changes at the state level, but until we can make that happen it is critically important that we support the proposed override ballot questions. Further, it is important that we pass both, not just one, as the town shares both expenses and revenues. If only one question passes, it will still negatively affect both the town and school budgets.

Bill Okerman:
Yes, I will be supporting both questions. I have closely followed the process by which the school and town-wide budgets have been formulated and debated over the last several years and am convinced that every effort has been made to pare the override requests to the amounts absolutely necessary to meet the needs of the town. There is no fat in these budgets and the override requests are necessary to support sound investments in our town.

Mike Taggart:
I intend to vote for the questions, because I believe the proposed cuts, particularly to athletics and the Science Center, would be extremely detrimental to our students. That being said, I am committed to bringing the budget under control so that we are not asking for overrides so often. Too many people simply cannot afford another property tax increase. However, not wanting to lose the Science Center and not wanting the athletic fee to be raised to $285, I will vote for this one.

Laura Flueckiger:
I am a single, working parent with two young children and I know how hard it is to make ends meet. I respect our citizens and I will never ask for a penny more than we need. I have gone through the budget and I believe that in order to continue to provide the top quality education that Needham is known for, we will need to increase our operating budget this year. Our student population continues to increase, and that in my opinion requires making this investment in our schools.

I have not yet been able to examine or make a decision on the Town override.

Bill Okerman:
In 2001 I was asked by the Board of Selectman to join the Stephen Palmer Rent/Tenant Committee in the wake of a controversy over the criteria being used to rent the apartments there. Our committee worked closely with the Board of Selectmen, Town Counsel, and the company that manages the property to develop new policies and procedures relative to tenant selection and rent review that addressed the controversy and were fair and reasonable for all parties.

Mike Taggart:
I have worked with people across groups in town in various capacities, from my service on the Little League Board, coaching baseball at the high school and American Legion levels, teaching in the school system, organizing high school reunions, volunteering at the cable channel, and working in cooperation with other real estate agents in Needham. With any issues in the school system, it is essential to seek input from all parties involved and to communicate effectively along each step of a process. I will listen actively to all voices and seek common ground from which to move forward.

Laura Flueckiger:
I am aware that our new superintendent believes in collaboration. My approach to building relationships and having the ability to contribute to a group effort is critical, especially working with our School Committee. I believe that working with people with different strengths, can as a group, have the ability to create great work, with great outcomes. As a teacher, I have the every day experience in working collaboratively with students, parents, teachers and staff in the Boston School System.

Working collaboratively reinforces the necessity to listen and hear all of the concerns of our school staff, parents, residents and each other. In order to facilitate collaboration each member must show respect of all parties included in the discussions, process and planning.

I believe in working well together with School Committee members, school staff and our new superintendent is imperative in ensuring the best education for children.

The web site I have available to citizens for this campaign will continue to be updated throughout my tenure if elected to School Committee. To find out the latest issues facing our School Committee and to contact me, visit www.LauraForNeedham.com

Don Gratz:
This is one of our most critical challenges in the next few years. I have shown an ability to work across town boards and with many people in the high school renovation mentioned above, and have played a similar role in other school committee decisions. As a professional, I frequently work with disparate groups to develop a joint decision about how to proceed. This has included working with parents, teachers and administrators in many schools and districts across the country, bringing together groups of business people, educators and citizens around school policy questions, and other collaborative ventures. My interest in running again was largely driven by my understanding of how important this issue is. I believe my years on the school committee and my professional experience put me in a good position to help maintain the strong collaborative style that has been such a hallmark of Needham’s schools.